Measures of different kinds are needed to cope with the manifold tasks arising in international development finance, and a variety of instruments, models and concepts have been suggested in the international discussion. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank, plays a particular role in this connection: according to the objectives laid down in its Articles of Agreement it is to concern itself exclusively with private investments in productive enterprises in developing countries. The following article indicates the problems faced in the institutional promotion of private enterprises and explains why the operations of the IFC have so far yielded somewhat meagre results.